Android L: 5 cool new things we didn’t hear about at Google I/O

We’ve only had Android L in its Developer Preview form for about a week now, but there has already been some incredible discoveries that weren’t part of the keynote presentation.

Google’s next update is by far the most ambitious change to the Android platform to date, and we say that knowing full well Google has only revealed a small portion of that change. The Material Design UI overhaul is going to be a powerful force in the Google ecosystem for the foreseeable future, but after spending a little time with the preview, it’s clear that the Android team at Google could have spent the entire keynote talking about this L release, and we likely still wouldn’t know everything that is being added or changed. Here’s a quick look at five fantastic improvements coming to L that further demonstrate what a big deal this update will be.

Function in any orientation

We know that Material Design is adding a physical depth and subtle texture to Android, and that the goal is to make everything big, beautiful, and highly animated. Everything that we’ve seen so far, even going back to our early leaks of Gmail and Google Calendar, all look visually pleasing and fun to play with. What we didn’t know until digging into the preview was how Google has finally made Android look and feel functional in either landscape or portrait view. While it’s still up to the app developers to force one view or the other, it looks like Android L will finally play nice with landscape-mounted devices.

Keyboards are better than ever

The Android keyboard has received a UI overhaul in this L release, and you can even install it on a non-L device now thanks to some clever developers, but the coolest feature in the keyboard so far is how the switcher tool has been moved from the notification panel to the navigation bar. That little keyboard icon in the bottom right-hand corner is how you switch between third-party keyboards and Google’s, which means one less thing hanging out in your notification tray.

You can finally search Settings

The Settings menu looks very nice now, but that search icon in the top corner is the most exciting part of the redesign. No more hunting around for a single setting in your seemingly endless list of options and features. Now, you can just type in whatever setting you are looking for and it will show up here in the list. You can see that the search bar doesn’t drill down to individual toggles just yet, but it points you in the right direction even on a phone or tablet you have never used before.

Your battery now tells the truth

Battery data has a UI overhaul, but it also does a much better job delivering expectations when it comes to charging and discharging the battery. Your usage will cause lines to show up in the battery meter that spell out when Android thinks the device will need to be plugged in. Once you’ve found a power outlet, the lock screen will tell you how long it will be before you’re fully charged. This doesn’t seem to work quite as well on wireless charging pads just yet, but this is a developer preview and most people use micro USB anyway.

More manageable WiFi

Android L gives you a lot more WiFi data, including whether or not you are on a 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz network. If you’re the type to use NFC tags, you can now write preferred WiFi networks to tags. This means you’ll be able to set up a guest network for friends who stop by, and all they will need to do is tap your tag and enter the password. This is perfect for those of us who chose not to use letters and numbers for SSID labels, but also removes one step in several when connecting to a new network.

As you can see, Android L is going to be a huge update when it finally arrives this Fall. We’ll be digging deeper and deeper into this new experience as the developer preview continues, but so far this update is very impressive.